Young orogens – the Earth’s loftiest places

Abstract

In the preceding chapter various Proterozoic and Paleozoic orogens were described. Each of these ancient ranges is presently deeply eroded and typically the roots or cores of these mountains are exposed in uplands or low mountains. Traces of some ancient mountains are now exposed in more recent orogenic regions where they have been extensively overprinted and subsequently uplifted. This chapter concerns more recent orogenic events and the mountains that were created in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Modern mountain ranges are the products of the same plate tectonic events that created older orogens.